Honeycomb foundation installing device

ABSTRACT

A pair of upstanding guides, secured in parallel spaced-apart relation to a horizontal base, are interposed between horizontal side members forming a honeycomb frame bottom rail for forcing the side members apart and loosely disposing a longitudinal edge portion of a honeycomb foundation therebetween.

United States Patent 1191 Goff Jan. 8, 1974 [54] HONEYCOMB F U D TI I T L I G 2,366,182 1/1945 Dadantetal. 6/10 1,773,221 8/1930 Davis .1 6/10 DEVICE Inventor: Thurman E. Goff, 2216 NW. 38,

Oklahoma City, Okla. 73112 Filed: Oct. 2, 1972 Appl. No.: 294,404

US. Cl. 6/10 Int. Cl A01k 47/02 Field of Search 6/10, ll

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Covington 6/10 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-l Q. Lever Att0mey-Robert K. Rhea [57] ABSTRACT 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures HONEYCOMB FOUNDATION INSTALLING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION section, for obtaining honey produced and stored by the bees and usually comprises a rectangular section having side and end walls coinciding with the dimensions of the brooder section and characterized by an open top and bottom and is commonly referred to as super." The top of the super is usually provided with a lid or top covering the topmost one of the one or more supers vertically positioned above the brooder section. Each of these supers are normally provided with a plurality of rectangular honeycomb frames disposed in vertical edgewise juxtaposed relation between parallel side walls of the super and supported thereby. These honeycomb frames are normally provided with a central planar section or sheet formed from beeswax and provided on its opposing flat surfaces with juxtaposed hexagonal recesses or indentations forming a base or foundation on which the bees build their hexag onal prismatic honey containing cells. This honeycomb foundation section or sheet is usually removed by the beekeeper with the honey during the processing or extracting the honey for sale, therefore, even when using a previously assembled honeycomb frame a new preformed honeycomb foundation sheet is installedin the previously used honeycomb frame. These honeycomb frames may be purchased in knock-down or ready to assemble fashion on the open market. Similarly the honeycomb foundation sheet is a purchase item. One longitudinal edge portion of a honeycomb foundation must be inserted within a slot formed in the depending rail of the honeycomb frame which is a tedious and time consuming function for the reason the transverse width of the slot is dimensioned to prevent lateral movement of the honeycomb foundation with respect to the frame.

posed side surface of the upstanding legs of the angular members intermediate the ends of the bottom rail. A honeycomb foundation has one longitudinal side edge manually positioned between the guides. A foundation impinging strip is manually positioned against the oppositely disposed longitudinal edge of the honeycomb foundation and the depending surface of the honey- This invention simplifies the installation of the longitudinal side edge portion of the honeycomb foundation into the honeycomb frame slot.

2. Description of the Prior Art I do not know of any patents disclosing a device for installing a honeycomb foundation in a honeycomb frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION comb frame top rail. The honeycomb frame is then manually lifted off the guides and inverted for nailing the foundation impinging strip to the honeycomb frame top rail.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for separating honeycomb frame bottom rail side members for placing a longitudinal edge portion of a honeycomb foundation therebetween and simultaneously placing the remaining portion of the honeycomb foundation between the inner limits of the remainder of the frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and illustrating, in vertical cross-section, a honeycomb frame when positioned thereon and the relative position of the honeycomb foundation; and,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, partially in section, of an inverted honeycomb frame illustrating the manner in which the honeycomb foundation is secured within the honeycomb frame.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates a conventional honeycomb frame comprising an elongated top rail 12 and a bottom rail 14 joined in parallel spaced-apart relation by parallel end members 16. The top rail 12 is characterized by a longitudinally extending recess or rabbeted surface 18 which receives one longitudinal edge portion of a honeycomb foundation 20. This longitudinal edge portion of the honeycomb foundation is impinged against the rabbeted edge by a longitudinal strip 22 by nailing the latter to the top rail 12. The bottom rail 14 is characterized by a longitudinally extending slot 24, medially its width, open to the top and bottom surface of the rail and coextensive with respect to the spacing between the end members 16. This bottom rail slot 24 receives the longitudinal edge portion of the honeycomb foundation opposite the top rail 12.

The honeycomb foundation 20 is rectangular sheetlike in general configuration having a transverse width substantially equal to the distance between the bottom surface of the frame bottom rail 14 and the rabbeted surface 18 of the top rail with the length of the foundation 20 substantially equal to the spacing between the frame end members 16. The respective opposing flat faces or surfaces of the foundation 20 are provided with hexagonal-shaped recesses or indentations 26 upon which bees build their honey receiving hexagonal cells which project horizontally outward from the respective generally vertical faces of the foundation 20.

The reference numeral 30 indicates the foundation installation device, as a whole, comprising a planar base 32 and a pair of guides 34. The guides 34 are formed from an elongated length of right angular material, in transverse cross section, having a length substantially less than the length of the honeycomb frame rail 14. One leg 36 of each guide 34 is flatly secured to the upper surface of the base 32 thus disposing the plane of the other leg normal to the upper surface of the base 32 and in spaced-apart relation with respect to each other to form a pair of upstanding guide strips 38. The spacing between the strips 38 is slightly greater than the transverse width of the honeycomb frame bottom rail slot 24 for freely receiving a longitudinal edge portion of the honeycomb foundation therebetween. The vertical dimension of the strips 38 is at least equal to and preferably greater than the thickness of the frame bottom rail 14.

The honeycomb frame is manually positioned on the foundation installer manually spreading the respective side members of the frame bottom rail 14 apart so that its slot 24 receives the guides or strips 38 therebetween. The honeycomb foundation 20 is manually positioned between the frame ends 16 with its depending edge portion disposed between the strips 38 and its upper longitudinal edge in contact with the rabbeted surface 18. The gripping strip 22 is manually positioned in the rabbeted edge recess of the frame top rail 12 and held in frictional contact with the upper longitudinal edge portion of the honeycomb foundation while manually lifting the frame off the foundation installer 30. The frame is then inverted (FIG. 3) and the gripper strip 22 secured within the rabbeted recess of the frame top rail 12 as by nails 40 thus impinging one longitudina'l edge portion of the honeycomb foundation.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations without defeating its practicability, therefore, I do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drwwings and described herein.

I claim:

1. In combination with a honeycomb foundation sheet and a honeycomb frame having a bottom rail provided with a longitudinal honeycomb foundation sheet receiving slot defining separable side members for said frame bottom rail, the improvement comprising:

a planar base; and,

guide means secured to said base in parallel spacedapart relation,

said guide means comprising a pair of elongated upstanding strips each having a vertical dimension at least equal to the thickness of said honeycomb frame bottom rail and having a length substantially less than the lenth of said honeycomb frame,

the spacing between the strips forming said guide means being greater than the transverse width of the frame bottom rail slot and less than the transverse dimension of the frame bottom rail,

whereby said guide means increases the transverse width of the slot between the frame bottom rail side members when the guide means is temporarily interposed between the frame bottom rail side mem bers.

2. The combination according to claim 1 in which said guide means comprises:

a pair of elongated right angular members each having one leg contiguously contacting the upper surface of said base and each having its other leg vertically disposed, the vertical dimension of said legs being at least equal to the thickness of the honeycomb frame bottom rail, the length of said vertical legs being substantially less then the length of said honeycomb frame. 

1. In combination with a honeycomb foundation sheet and a honeycomb frame having a bottom rail provided with a longitudinal honeycomb foundation sheet receiving slot defining separable side members for said frame bottom rail, the improvement comprising: a planar base; and, guide means secured to said base in parallel spaced-apart relation, said guide means comprising a pair of elongated upstanding strips each having a vertical dimension at least equal to the thickness of said honeycomb frame bottom rail and having a length substantially less than the lenth of said honeycomb frame, the spacing between the strips forming said guide means being greater than the transverse width of the frame bottom rail slot and less than the transverse dimension of the frame bottom rail, whereby said guide means increases the transverse width of the slot between the frame bottom rail side members when the guide means is temporarily interposed between the frame bottom rail side members.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 in which said guide means comprises: a pair of elongated right angular members each having one leg contiguously contacting the upper surface of said base and each having its other leg vertically disposed, the vertical dimension of said legs being at least equal to the thickness of the honeycomb frame bottom rail, the length of said vertical legs being substantially less then the length of said honeycomb frame. 